Life after Sunrise
by FalconBlue
Summary: Lita helps Django with his past, present, future and a new life in San Miguel. On hold indefinitely.
1. An Old Friend, New Beginnings

Life after Sunrise

Chapter 1: An old friend, new beginnings

_"At the moment it's dormant, you have control over it, just like how you can transform between the two."_

_"Does it mean I'm immortal though?"_

_"I'm unsure of this, but I doubt it. When you change between forms, you change your body as a whole, as the light side, you are mortal, as the dark, immortal."_

_"Will it stay with me forever? I don't want it to hurt anyone..."_

_"It's hard to say at the moment. You overcame the darkness once, I don't doubt your ability to do it again. However, if you agree with me, I believe that it would be in your better interests to be fully purified. You are currently having to share power with your dark side, in other words, you can't fully utilise the power of sol."_

_"How will I be purified? Will I have to suffer as I did when I was transformed?"_

_"I wouldn't worry about it just yet, you need your strength back after defeating the evils of this world. I can tell you though, it will be much less painful that when you were bitten by that vampire form of Ringo..."

* * *

_

"Django, are you ok there sonny?"

Django slowly lifted his head from the desk he was sitting at, his eyes heavy from sleep. He shook his head and took a look around, remembering where he was. A moment later he was met by a chuckling Smith.

"Looks like you drifted off there a bit eh Django?" remarked Smith as he smiled and looked back at what he was working on. The tapping of his hammer had put Django to sleep, lost in his thoughts of his conversation with Otenko about recent events.

"Uh, sorry Smith, just thinking about what's happened lately."

"I don't blame you, it's not everyday you defeat the ultimate evil in these parts, you lived quite up to your father's name, you know that don't you?"

Django stood up, looked out of the window of the gunsmith's forgery and nodded, "I'm sad to see him go, but I'm also relieved somewhat, he saved us and now he's probably with my mother, it's what they both would have wanted." Looking out of the window he could see the beautifil blue sky again, a few white clouds sparsely littering the skyline. The mantra of Otenko and his father, '_The sun will rise tomorrow!'_ ran through his head once more.

Smith finished tweaking his work and looked back to Django, "Well, we still have this to remember him by," he said, revealing the fully repaired Gun Del Sol. "I've fixed the energy output but I've been able to maintain the power and charge shot, although I had to modify the frame somewhat. I'm sure you've got the other ones though, right?"

Django took the gun from Smith's outstretched hands, "You're right. This is only the basic Fighter frame, I kept the Dragoon along with all of the other powerful parts for the Gun Del Sol hidden away. Otenko and I were only travelling, meeting the occasional ghoul, I didn't really need the excess power, so I hid them. I kept the quint battery pack though. I was planning to retrieve them but then I lost the Gun Del Sol."

Smith chuckled as he observed Django reaquanting himself with his old friend, "You still managed with the Sol De Vice though. I never knew it could be used so well to fight the undead."

Placing the gun back in its holster Django returned to his conversation, "It was a blessing. I did sometimes miss the power of the Gun Del Sol, but it's the heart behind the tool that counts. It's great to have it back though, it will be invaluable if the undead return."

"I'm glad you like it," said a cheerful Smith, "Just remember, the charge shot only applies to the modified frame. The shot depends on the frame, so when you install the Dragoon again, you'll have the normal shot and spread, just like the rest of your custom frames."

Taking it all in, Django quickly re-examined the firearm. The new frame looked somewhat reminiscent of the original. However, it was much sleeker, with a white sun decal on the side, Smith's personal touch obviously. The other parts of the weapon remained unchanged, simply due to the fact they didn't need to be changed. SteelSmith, the forger of both the Gun Del Sol and the Gun Del Hel, had designed the weapons with the intention the gun itself would never need to be changed, an intention still evident in the item held in Django's hands.

"So how much do I owe you, it did take a long time for you to do this..." Django trailed off as Smith stood in front of Django and put an arm on his shoulder.

"How many times do we have to keep telling you, we owe you Solar Boy Django. You saved the world, let alone our city, from an ancient evil powerful enough to ruin the balance of light and darkness. Think nothing of it." Smith turned back to his workstation to pack up his equipment, "So what do you intend to do with yourself now, I don't think I can believe there are more immortals to take care of?"

Django thought for a moment, "Well, I'm not sure, Otenko said that now we've sealed Spiral Castle, the undead should decline by itself. I suppose you could say that we're out of work for the time being."

"You're more than welcome to stay in San Miguel, Django, I'm sure we could find you plenty of work to do. What about Lita, she seems to be doing well with her shop, what plans does she have?"

"I'm not sure, why do you ask, doesn't she talk to you Smith?"

Smith tried to supress a chuckle, "I just thought that you could stay with her perhaps, you make quite a good team you know, and she has nothing but praise to say about you all the time. I can't get anything else out of her now the solar tree is complete."

Suffice to say, Django had no idea what to think. Never had he thought about anything more than friendship between the two of them. He'd saved her life, she restored the solar tree and the two supported each other through the good times and the bad. Although there were times when he'd noticed a bit of a blush on her face when she talked to him, and the time he'd seen her at night in the glow of the solar tree and couldn't help but think how pretty she looked...

"You still with me there sonny?" asked a grinning Smith as Django got lost in his thoughts again, quickly snapping him back to reality.

"Huh? Oh yeah, sorry. Maybe I should go talk to Lita."

"Well if you do, here's a tip, give her something nice, you deserve a nice lass like that."

Django tried to hide his embarassment and slight blush by turning to pick up his things, "Um, thanks for the tip, I think, and thanks again for the Gun Del Sol."

"It's a pleasure Django, there's nothing I love more than nurturing your fine father's talent. Take care son!" said Smith as he farewelled Django from his forgery and thought, 'Why is it that a deserving lad can never notice the girl of his dreams right in front of him?'

* * *

Meanwhile, Lita was out for a walk and decided to see how Zazie was. It was late in the day, so she'd simply decided to close her shop so she could visit the inn. When she arrived she noticed Violet was giggling at Nero, who was playing with the solar bamboo and causing solar bugs to fly everywhere. It brought a smile to her face. She'd noticed that Violet was a rather quiet girl, who kept to herself. However, when Django had arrived, she started to open up. Not only had he saved her cat on numerous occasions, but he'd found the warehouse keys, enabling Violet to finally find out what was inside.

'He's so caring, he does everything for everyone around him, he worked so hard to restore the solar tree' thought Lita as thoughts of Django entered her mind again, 'I only wish I could repay him somehow, or at least tell him how...'

"Huh? HEY, what're those flies doin' in here? Come on, I didn't put that bamboo in here for nothin'!"

The loud voice of an angry Zazie snapped Lita out of her trance. It wasn't an agressive angry, more of a friendly angry.

"But Nero is having fun Zazie, look at him!" came the reply from Violet.

"Well, I'll tell ya' what, how about I make a bit of bamboo for you and Nero so you two can have fun wherever you want."

"Yay! Thank you Zazie! Say thank you too Nero,"

Nero went up and purred next to Zazie, before Violet scooted him up and ran off to play under the solar tree again.

"She's changed ya' know Lita, she's much more open now, just like a kid should be." said Zazie as she sat down at the bar, facing Lita.

"It makes me happy to see her smile, this town is so peaceful now, you could never think this was where the world almost ended," commented Lita as she sat next to Zazie at the bar. She noticed that Zazie was flicking through her star reading cards again, causing her to slightly wonder what was in store for the future. Zazie quickly shuffled them and placed them on the table in front of her.

"It's all thanks to that Solar Boy, he's definately got the spirit of his father Red Ringo in his blood," Lita shuddered a little, thinking how true that actually almost was, "Well, I didn't mean it like that, you know what I mean Lita, I got nothin' against him."

Lita smiled back, "Don't worry about it Zazie, it's easy to forget after everything that's happened..."

Zazie couldn't help but notice Lita's face falling a little as she recalled Django's horrible ordeal. It all started when he was dragged back into town in his own solar coffin by Sabata. Lita had been the first to notice and everyone literally had to hold her back from trying to get to his side.Throughoutthe entire ordeal Lita had never left Django's side, even when he passed out performing the Pile Driver on another dark guardian, Lita couldn't hold back the tears and only Django smiling to her again had calmed her down. All of San Miguel had been behind Django as he battled his dark side, but no one had even come close to matching Lita's support of Django, and the whole town knew it was only a matter of time before the two became a couple.

"Ya' know Lita, you and Django would make a really cute couple," said Zazie absentmindedly, instantly causing Lita to go red.

"W..what? Zazie! It's not like that," Lita replied in defence.

"Oh come on Lita, besides, there's nothin' wrong with likin' someone. Like I said, you two really suit each other."

Lita turned an even deeper shade of red, "Well, I...I suppose I do like him a bit"

Zazie smiled, "See, that wasn't too hard eh? Why don't you tell him though, I hate to see situations like this."

"I don't know, I just can't come out and tell him something like that. Besides,what if he doesn't like me!" Lita sounded slightly desperate, however, the star reader knew better.

"Are you kidding? Whenever you're not around he's always askin' where you've gone and when I ask what he thinks of you, he won't stop talking about you!"

This response made Lita start fidgeting a little, "You really think he likes me?"

Zazie sighed and rolled her eyes, "Of course I do, I am a star reader ya' know. If I'm wrong, then I reckon I might be lookin' for a new line of work!"

Chuckling to herself, Zazie got up out of her seat and walked over to the solar bamboo in the corner. As she got near it, she pulled out her staff and tapped the side, casing a single solar bug to appear, and quickly fly out of the window, where the sun could be seen making it's last flight over the city for the day.

"Ya' know, these little guys aren't too bad if they aren't flying around in your hair."

Lita couldn't help but notice too as she walked over to join her. Zazie twirled her staff quickly, causing it to vanish, sending it back to its holder in Zazie's bedroom.

"Thank you for your thoughts Zazie."

"No probs Lita! Now you go and find Django awright, and don't chicken out on me kay?"

Lita smiled again, quickly hugged Zazie and left with a smile on her face. Zazie then went back to her usual spot to fall asleep.

'My star readin's been right before, why not again?'


	2. Solar Reflection

A/N First of all, I have to apologise for the very VERY long delay between updates. Sorry! I've had midyear exams and I've been way too busy with music and schoolwork lately. Plus, I have to share the compy I write on. Enough excuses though, I am seriously going to try and do as many updates as I can to make up for it. I might add here though, Django is really hard to characterise. He doesn't really say much in the games, so I'm aiming for a kind, considerate selfless character, which is what I consider him to be. Also, he's not really shy like Lita when it comes to their relationship, I just don't think he really knows what to do, having focused mainly on fighting the undead his whole life. Hey, that's my opinion, but this is also my story too!

I don't own Konami or anything affiliated with Boktai, or there would be many more sequels with much more character development, courtesy of me! ;)

Chapter 2: Solar Reflection

"Something the matter Django?"

A small sparkle signalled the return of Otenko to Django's side as he walked through San Miguel's streets. His pace didn't slow, but Django considered the sunflower for a moment as he snapped out of his thoughts.

"Otenko, what do you think about the undead at the moment, now that Jormungandr's gone."

The sunflower thought for a moment, thinking through his vast knowledge about the undead.

"Jormungandr was the ultimate Immortal. One created by evil spirits for nothing more than the purpose of destruction. They disrupted the balance of Sol and Lunar by funneling their power into the Lunar side, causing it to destroy life. The Immortals were created simply to exist, nothing more. Sol and Lunar are life and death respectively, they represent the continuing cycle of life returning to the earth after death, before being reborn again. Jormungandr was the first Immortal, created by sheer incidence. The sheer power eminating from this being, resulted in the creation of other Immortals by means I do not understand. As they destroyed life, their power grew and more were created. Now that Jormungandr is gone, I do not believe there is reason for them to come back."

"So, what you're saying, is that the Immortals existed due to the presence of Jormungandr, right?"

"Indeed Solar Boy, the Immortals represented nothing more than an evil created by a disruption in the balance of Solar and Lunar. They served no purpose in existing and you were able to destroy their core."

"Which means, that by destroying their creator, the Immortals have no source of power and should now leave this realm."

"Right."

Satisfied with this explanation, Django resumed walking again, before something that was nagging at him finally popped back into his head.

"What does that mean for us Otenko, our duty is to ensure the balance of life and death is maintained, but now the Immortal are gone, what now?"

Otenko thought again for a moment, "I can feel the darkness weakening by itself, quite rapidly too. I don't believe we need to take care of it. As for now, I believe that staying here might be the best option. Jormungandr's lair is hidden deep within the earth, quite suitable for the Immortals. It might sound obvious, but anywhere else would be a give away."

The pair reached the end of the avenue, which lead on to the road where most of the city's stores were located. By chance, the road lead to the front of Lita's store. Otenko noticed this.

"Tell me Django, has Lita voiced her plans to you yet?"

Django was caught slightly off guard by Otenko's question, "Not yet Master, she might have other solar trees to plant, I suppose she might have to leave to do that," replied Django, a slight tinge of disappointment in his voice.

"Actually Django, being planted in the City of the Sun was the best option for this solar tree. It's power is slowly being amplified, such to the point that other solar trees might not even be necessary."

Django slightly brightened up, "Really? That's incredible!"

"Besides Solar Boy, you two work much better together, I don't think she would leave without you. An Earthly Maiden can't do everything by herself."

Otenko floated in front of Django, "As of now Django, we do not have much to worry about. There are things that I need to take care of and due to that, I will have to leave for a time. I want you to take a break Solar Boy Django, even your father knew when to relax, now is that time."

Django couldn't help but agree, "Thanks Master, good luck." Otenko nodded in reply and vanished again, leaving Django to his thoughts.

'I know, I'll go to the solar tree, that'll help me think.' thought Django as he set off.

The solar tree stood in the middle of the esplanade, its light pink glow luminating the surrounding area. The orange sky at dusk created a harmonising contrast anyone could appreciate. There were two paths leading out from the solar tree. One went out into the rest of the city, while the other lead back to the shops and residential areas. As Django walked along he spotted a familiar sight.

"Lita!"

The sound of his voice caused the earthly maiden to stop in her tracks and turn around, but not before a huge smile crept onto her features.

"Hi Master Django, what brings you out at this time?" Lita enquired.

"Well, um, I actually thought maybe we could go somewhere and talk if you aren't busy or anything" Django said, with a degree of awkwardness that surprised himself.

Lita blushed a little at the thought of finally having some time alone with Django. "Of course Master Django, you know I wouldn't say no."

"Great! Oh, by the way Lita, you don't have to call me Master, it's not like we're at a function or anything."

This caused another blush, "Thank you Mast...I mean Django." The solar boy chuckled a little.

Eventually the pair reached the solar tree and decided to go and sit under it on a newly installed bench. They didn't sit too close to each other, but close enough to feel a little nervous befre Lita broke the silence.

"So tell me Django, what plans do you have now, I assume you and Master Otenko have to leave again, right?" Django couldn't help but notice the evident withdrawl of Lita's tone.

"Well actually, Otenko told me that it would be in our best interests to stay here, although I don't really know where I'll stay, I don't think Zazie wants to put up with us for much longer..."

Lita's face brightened up, "You can stay with me Django!" she exclaimed, before realising what she had just said, "I mean, um, I've got a spare bed and you can stay with me if you want to..."

"Lita, I don't want to intrude on you or anything," Django then noticed her pleading emerald eyes and a slight disappointment, "But I'd like to stay with you Lita and I'll make sure I earn my keep and..."

Django couldn't finish as Lita had jumped on him and was giving him a crushing hug a bear would be proud of. She then realised what she was doing and backed off, her face as red as a solar fruit, Django's equally the same colour. After composing herself she thanked him proper.

"Thank you Django, I was hoping we would be able to stay together this time." said Lita, remembering how sad she was after Django had been forced to leave for San Miguel after the first tree was finished. Django had felt it too though, he'd felt down not being able to spend time relaxing with Lita.

"We ended up together again anyway Lita, I sort of regret not asking you to come, we work much better as a team." admitted Django.

"We do don't we?" added Lita.

The two then fell into an awkward silence, not knowing what to say. The two stole a glance into each others eyes, causing them to blush without fail, smile and look at the ground again. They both knew they liked the other, but they wouldn't admit it. Django simply didn't know what to do or say, whilst Lita was convinced that Django couldn't possilbly like, even love her, the same way. At that moment though, something glowed in Django's pocket. Both of the pair noticed, and Django removed the offending item.

"Django that's a..." Lita said with a gasp.

The item was a seed that Django had found in a chest in his travels. It was smooth and had a pinkish hue to it. He couldn't force himself to throw it away, so it had stayed in his pocket the whole time. Django had planned to ask Otenko about it, but it had quickly slipped his mind. In the light of the solar tree, it was glowing quite profusely. Then in an instant, it burst, creating a shower of pink fragments around the pair. What resulted in Django's hand, was the most delicate flower they'd ever seen. It, like the solar tree, had a pink hue, but had extremele delicate petals and seemed to shimmer around its leaves, which opened up like a rose.

"...Lunar rose, I'd only ever heard rumours about them. They say it only blooms under a full solar tree at dusk, I'd only heard rumours about them. I never thought I'd ever see one in my life..."

Django looked at the delicate flower, then into Lita's eyes, his light hazel eyes connecting with her emerald orbs that fit so well with her light brown hair. Django slowly took Lita's hands from her lap and faced them palms up under his. With his other hand, he placed the rose in her open hands and slowly closed his fingers around it. Both of their hearts were racing, Lita's feeling like it was ready to burst out of her chest. She looked at the rose, then back at Django's smiling face and felt a tear roll down her cheek.

"Lita?" asked Django in a quiet voice, "I have to tell you something." All she could do was nod. "I had a really hard time when my mother was kidnapped, I had no-one to go to. Then Otenko came, and helped me find her again. But then when we were fighting the count, we found you captive. Then when we saved you, you fought your way out by yourself without asking for any help. We found you at the solar tree and it turned out you had the same mission. When we defeated the queen, the tree was finished and I thought we could relax, however, we had to leave again."

Lita could feel the tears starting to flow down her face and shifted closer to Django, both not minding.

"I felt terrible, but I had to do my duty. Then when I was bitten by my father I started to lose hope. But I heard your voice, and had the will to keep going, even though things looked bad. Then when I passed out performing the piledriver, your voice made me come back and I regained my human form. You've done nothing but support me and help me no matter what, and I don't know how to give anything back. I don't know how to say it Lita, you're the person that matters the most to me and give me my strength, you're so kind and considerate and...beautiful," the last comment was made with the red creeping back onto Django's face.

"Django..." Lita said, placing the rose on her lap so as not to damage it and circling her arms around him, her mind begging for him to feel the same.

"Lita, I think I...I love you."

"I love you too Django!" replied Lita with no hesitation, "I always have, you've given everything to save us, and so much more to me with no expectation of return. When you gave the first solar tree life, I tried so hard to tell you, but I just couldn't. I've tried ever since, but I didn't know you felt the same way."

Lita was crying, not for sorrow, but joy. Django responded by pulling her onto his lap, Lita cradling the rose in her hands.

"I felt terrible when you were bitten. I thought I might lose the one person who gave me reason, who showed me that my work did more than I believed it did. I never knew what my solar trees could do until you came along. You've been so selfless Django, you almost sacrificed yourself to save the earth. I didn't give up though, because I knew that you would never want that."

Django was surprised that the girl in his arms had gone through so much and responded by tightening his hold. They stayed like that for a while, before the breeze picked up. The pair stood up and straightened themselves out. Lita hesitantly held out her hand, which Django accepted with a smile, causing her to do the same, before the pair left to begin their new relationship in San Miguel.

Please review and tell me what you think! Don't worry, there's more to come! Update: Typos fixed, new chap is on the way!


	3. Then and Now

A/N Sorry for the long delay, yet again. I promise to write more sooner, again. Seriously, I'm going to honestly try and get more done sooner, I've had yet another barrage of year 12 work and I've left my year-long English Studies assignment very late, although it's not due for a few weeks still. Enough about that though, here is chapter three! I do have a story lined up, but that's not for another few chapters yet, it's coming though, don't worry, Chapter 4 is halfway done too!

Still don't own Konami or other Boktai affiliated companies, still waiting for a sequel...

Life After Sunrise

Chapter 3: Then and Now

The sun had finished its descent below the horizon with a full moon now shining its light onto the city of the sun. It made a fitting scene for the town, after enduring the near end of the world, San Miguel could now finally sleep at peace, without the threat of the undead living in the back of the townspeople's minds. The moon seemed especially brighter tonight, but couldn't glow brighter than the aura now surrounding a couple making its way through the streets of the city. Django and Lita were casually making their way back to pick up Django's belongings from the inn, hands securely held together. For Lita, she couldn't imagine wanting anything else at that point in time. Not only had she finally been able to tell Django how she felt, but she no longer had to worry about his safety and the constant threat of his death at the hands of another immortal. With these thoughts swirling around her head, she let out a small sigh of contentment.

"It's so nice to finally relax isn't it Django?"

Django had phased out slightly, his head still a little in the clouds from their moment under the Solar Tree. Lita's question snapped him back to reality, however it wasn't quick enough, causing him to completely miss her question.

"Hm?" was all he could say, causing Lita to giggle.

"You weren't paying attention were you?" she asked in a mock hurt tone.

"I was!" replied Django with all seriousness.

Lita continued to giggle, "I'm teasing you silly." Django chuckled in response.

"What did you ask though Lita?"

Lita calmed herself down, "I was just thinking how nice it is we can all relax, isn't it?"

Django nodded his head, "It's nice to be able to stop fighting, people can start living normal lives again."

Lita agreed by squeezing Django's hand, "That includes us too, but we still must remember to never forget our duty as protectors of the earth." she added, Django nodding his head again in agreement.

A small silence passed between the two before they arrived at the inn. As the pair walked inside they found Zazie in her usual spot just waking up from another usual nap on the bar. Django started to wonder if an imprint had started to form in the bench, but Zazie quickly acknowledged the pair, breaking his thoughts.

"Well, well, look's like my star readin's right again." proclaimed Zazie with a sense of pride, putting Django in a sense of slight confusion.

"Uh, what is she talking about Lita?" he innocently asked. Lita suddenly remembered her conversation with Zazie earlier in the day.

"Oh, don't listen to her Django." she replied, sneaking a quick glare at Zazie, who got the message right away.

Zazie spun around on her seat to get a good look at the pair. There stood Django and Lita, hands held, both with huge smiles on their faces. Zazie couldn't help but notice how well the pair looked together. At first glance, one would have thought the physical aspects like hair and eye colour would never work, but they proved the point wrong. Django's blonde hair contrasted well with Lita's brown and his hazel and her emerald eyes had the same effect, giving them the look that they were made for each other and no-one else.

"So you're here for Django's stuff right?" asked Zazie, who already knew the answer.

The pair were taken a little off guard, "Wait, how did you know..." started Lita.

Zazie rolled her eyes, "I'm a star reader, remember? Or has that Solar Boy gotten into yer head?"

"Do you think we should come back later Django?" asked Lita in a mocking tone.

"Awright, awright, I give." caved Zazie, "You really know how to get to me don't ya Lita?"

"You're not the first one tonight." added Django.

Lita pouted, "So would you like to stay on the floor tonight Django?"

Zazie couldn't restrain herself, and started laughing at the pair. Eventually, Django and Lita joined in before everyone eventually calmed down and composed themselves.

"I'll let you two go then," said Zazie, "I'm gonna head off to bed neways, see ya'll tomorrow kay?"

"Of course Zazie, have a nice night." replied Lita, before Zazie headed off upstairs, leaving the two to collect Django's belongings from his room.

---

Django's room was no different from any other in the inn. It had a bed with bedside table, a small wardrobe, a window looking out to the plaza and a bathroom to the side. The only difference was Django's scant belongings neatly organised around the room. As both he and Lita entered, he picked up a backpack and two larger bags, and placed them on his bed.

"Is this all you have Django?" asked Lita out of curiosity.

Django turned his attention to the maiden, "Yeah, I guess having spent my whole life travelling and fighting I never really thought about the things I owned."

His words hung in the air for a moment before Lita looked around the room again and moved to Django's pile of spare clothing.

"So, let's get to work then!" she happily exclaimed, remembering that Django was moving in with her, "Put these in one of those big bags?"

"Sure, I'll take the small stuff in my backpack and the rest in the other bag." said Django as we started putting his spare weapon parts in the bag that he had.

The pair worked together in unison, completing the task in a very small amount of time. His clothing in one bag, heavier items in the other and various small items in his backpack. As Django made a final pass around the room he noticed a shirt under the bed that he had missed. Wondering a little as to why it was under his bed, he got on his knees and reached under for it.

"What's that Django?" asked Lita as she noticed his strange actions.

After reaching it, he pulled the shirt out. As he held it in front of him, two photographs fell out from the inside. Picking them up, he sat on the bed to inspect them. Lita decided to sit next to him, leaning her head on his shoulder as he looked at the two pictures. The first photo was one taken shortly after the defeat of Jormungandr. In it was Django and Lita, both smiling with a few of their friends. Zazie, Violet and Nero were in the photo with them, as well as a rather annoyed Sabata. Lita laughed as she remembered how they had convinced him to be in it. Not by their part, rather, a very insistent Zazie who had literally dragged him into it for the fun of it. Fortunately, he'd seen the funnier side of it and not taken it too hard.

"I wonder where Sabata's gone, he left at the end of that day didn't he?" wondered Zazie.

Django thought for a moment, "He said he had to leave, something about Carmilla not being too impressed by him not contacting her since he'd arrived here."

Lita giggled again, "I wonder why she even puts up with him sometimes." Django couldn't help but agree.

They continued to look at the photo for a little longer, before Django finally decided to look at the second one. Putting the first one on the table next to the bed, he found the second one was facing down. There were obvious markings to the age of the photo, the discoloured paper the obvious sign. As Django turned the photo over, his heart skipped a beat. It was a photo he'd forgotten he had, of his family. It contained both himself and Sabata being held by their smiling mother and equally happy father. Django stared at the photo as recent events flooded back to his mind. First his mother had been captured and eventually killed by the Immortal Queen, then his father had been taken by the Vampire Count, his body then used by the immortals more than once for their bidding.

Lita wasn't oblivious to this fact though, and knew Django was most likely hurting. Wrapping her arms around Django, she whispered into his ear,

"It's alright Django, their bodies might be gone, but their spirits still exist to help us, you know that."

Django replied by putting his arm around her and leaning his head slightly on hers, "You're right, all we can do is move on and enjoy life for them, and as long as you're here with me, I think things will work out just fine"

Giving a reassuring squeeze, Lita smiled and leant into Django, content to simply stay that way for a while. However the silence was soon broken when Django's stomach decided that enough was enough and reminded him that he hadn't been eating as much as he should have. He blushed a little, but Lita simply giggled at him.

"I think it's time I got you home and gave you a good meal." she insisted, taking a quick peek at his lean frame.

Django chuckled in response as he stood up and gave Lita his hand to pull her up, which she eagerly accepted. The two picked up their belongings and begun the walk to Lita's house, which would soon become their new home together.

---

Sorry about the shorter length, it's going to improve in later chapters. Please review and tell me what you think!


	4. A New Home

Life After Sunrise

Chapter 4: A New Home

"Django, give me one of those bags, you're going to hurt yourself!"

It wasn't the first time that Lita had insisted on carrying more than one bag on the way home, and now trying to go up the staircase to the house above her store was proving to be an interesting situation. Django wore his backpack and had insisted on carrying the heavier bag, leaving Lita only to carry his clothes. More than once had she insisted to carry more, but Django refused. Now he was struggling to get up the stairs, putting on quite a display in the process.

"It's OK Lita!" said Django through clenched teeth, "I just need to concentrate for a second."

Lita gave up, 'He's so stubborn when it comes to helping people,' she thought, watching Django ascend the last few stairs.

Eventually, he made it, but in his moment of glory, lost his balance and came dangerously close to falling back down the stairs, had it not been for Lita grabbing Django's arms. After steadying himself, he put the bag on the ground and scratched the back of his head.

"Thanks Lita," he weakly let out, still a little weary from his near fall.

Lita looked at the odd sight in front of her, there was Solar Boy Django, whom she had just saved from a possible serious injury, caused mainly by his own stubborness, which he also realised and was now trying to cover up. Giving up on trying to figure the situation out, she just decided a hug was in order. Django was a little surprised by her sudden display of affection, but welcomed it nonetheless.

As they hugged Lita pulled back slightly so she could look at Django. "Just remember, you've done enough for all of us, so we're more than happy to help, you just need to ask us," she told him.

Lita squeezed Django one last time before picking up his things and motioning for him to follow. Django was lead into a rather roomy bedroom with two beds. Lita put the bag she was carrying on the unoccupied side of the room. Although she was happy that they were sharing the same room, there was a little doubt in the back of Lita's mind that Django might not be ready just yet to occupy a room with another person.

"Django, are you comfortable with sharing a room with me? I don't want to feel like I'm imposing on your privacy."

The question took Django a little by surprise, but he understood how Lita wanted to make him happy.

"There's no problem at all Lita, I think it will be nice to have some company for a change."

Lita smiled in response and went off to get some bedsheets from the closet. Django looked at his living space. Along with his bed, there was a table next to it and a small wardrobe next to the bed. As he thought about how he would organise his things, Lita came back with some sheets and a pillow.

"Do you want any help organising Django?" asked Lita as she walked back in, noticing the thoughtful expression on Django's face.

Django was just about to reply when his stomach let out a growl, reminding Django that he hadn't eaten for quite a while, causing Lita to try and restrain a giggle.

"Maybe I should make you some dinner instead," Lita offered.

"You don't have to do that Lita, I don't want to impose on you any more than.."

"Stop being so stubborn," cut off Lita, "Besides, I haven't eaten either. So, I'll get dinner started and you can organise your things."

With that, the two spent the next fifteen minutes tending to their individual tasks. Django put his things away in a somewhat logical order, making special note to put his Gun Del Sol in a hidden but easily accessible place. As he finished tidying up and making his bed, Django decided to have a bit of a lie down. As he got comfy on his new bed, Django looked out of the window next to him.

'It's almost a new moon.'

* * *

Zazie stood outside in the plaza upon the piledriver, ignoring all of the signs that it was extremely late at night. Looking around at her surroundings, she too took notice of the moon. 

"I hope this' important, I'd hate to think the former Sunflower Girl'd be pullin' my leg this hour of the night," Zazie muttered under her breath.

Before her lay a number of star reading cards, arranged in a circle around a single piece of parchment. Concentrating for a moment, she summoned her staff from her room, twirled it around her head and placed its base on the ground directly in front of her set-up. An aura of yellow energy surrounded the staff for a moment, before a circle of dust started to swirl around them.

"Now, tell me what you've decided to be so important all of a sudden."

* * *

"Django, dinner's ready!" 

Lita's voice startled Django from his trance. He'd simply been staring at the almost new moon for the last five minutes, and now that he thought about it, had absolutely no idea why he had been doing so. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts he noticed Lita poke her head inside the room.

"Coming?" she asked.

Django got up and sniffed the air, "Smells great Lita, what is it?"

Smiling broadly, she grabbed Django by the arm and pulled him into the kitchen, "Enough food to make sure you get all of your strength back, and maybe more."

The pair shared a laugh and Django and Lita sat down to their first dinner together, before finally deciding to head off to sleep.

* * *

Wow, um, so yeah, I haven't updated for a while. So, sorry again. What's my excuse this time? A legitimate one actually, year 12 final exams, yay! No seriously, I had english studies today, and I've still got maths studies, specialist maths and biology to go. But after that, I will update more, because I have no school after that. Ooh, and I have a story now, so this is hopefully the last short chapter (they're getting even shorter, sorry!), maybe even a weekly update schedule, but let's not get too excited now :) 


	5. Mixed Signals

Life After Sunrise

Chapter 5: Mixed Signals

"Django?"

Lita looked at the sleeping form she had just tried to rouse. She'd got up early to make breakfast and left Django sleeping quite soundly. Now that it was ready, Lita had come back to wake up Django, who was sleeping very contently to say the least. As much as she was enjoying watching him peacefully, breakfast was getting cold. Eventually, she decided to try again, a little closer to his ear.

"Django, breakfast is ready" she whispered into his ear.

However, what Lita hadn't intended, was that Django had a habit of waking quite suddenly, and without warning. As soon as she finished whispering, Django woke with a start. Unfortunately, such a sudden movement caused Lita to lose her footing, tumbling onto Django, who still hadn't comprehended what was happening. Lita landed a little awkwardly, leading her to grab onto Django, which pulled them both onto the floor, admist a little shouting from the both of them, into a heap of blankets.

The final result of this, was that Lita was squarely on top of Django and they were both looking directly into each other's eyes. Django unconsciously lifted his head a little, leading their noses to be slightly touching, their gaze still unwavering. Lita's heartbeat starting going a lot faster as she realised that in fact, they were very, very close.

"Umm, Django, are you..." she started, not really knowing what to say.

Just as Django tried to reply, the kettle decided to let out a shrill whistle, which broke the moment, and made the pair both jump to their feet. Lita looked at Django for a moment, before she suddenly remembered just what she was supposed to be doing.

"Breakfast is ready, if you want to, um, get it" said Lita meekly, hiding her face under her brown bangs in order to hide a massive blush.

"Uh, sure, yeah, that sounds good!" exclaimed Django, with a matching blush, as he tried to dissipate the huge awkwardness between the two.

Lita smiled and the pair went their separate ways to get ready.

* * *

"So, what plans do you have today?" asked Django as he started the conversation between them again. 

Lita finished her sip of tea and thought for a moment, "Well, I have to open the store in about half an hour, and I'll be there for most of the day, what about you?"

"I dunno, do you need any help with the shop?"

"Oh no!" Lita sounded almost shocked, "You don't have to do that Django!"

"Don't say that Lita, think of it as my rent for living here, plus I've got nothing else I'd rather do anyway."

"Well, ok then, but don't work too hard because if you do, you're off the roster!"

Django chuckled at Lita's forwardness, causing her to follow suit. The rest of breakfast was spent in silence, the two sneaking glances at each other every now and then. At one stage, they both looked at the same time, resulting in the two looking away very quickly, complete with blush.

As Lita washed up, after refusing quite sternly to let Django help, her mind wandered back to the moment she'd had with him first thing in the morning. She stopped for a moment and thought about it. They were literally only a tiny fraction from kissing each other, yet they both refused to make the first move. Suffice to say, Lita was a little disappointed.

_'We ARE dating now, so why didn't he...'_

However, Django's line of thought was a little similar as he was brushing his teeth. Lita had been right there in front of him, all he'd had to do was move just a little more upwards. However, the reason he'd stopped was quite simply, that he didn't know what to do. Lita did look like she wanted to kiss, but Django had just been apprehensive about the whole thing.

_'Was I supposed to do it? Or was it too soon, I wonder...'_

The pair were too wrapped up in their thoughts that they didn't notice they were both standing in front of the door, ready to go. Django looked at Lita, both lost for words.

"So, do you want to, um, uh..." started Django.

"You mean, when we..."

Lita put a hand over her mouth, too embarrassed to wonder why she'd said that. But what she failed to notice that Django was now standing right in front of her, with his arms around her waist, his head slowly moving forward to meet hers. Instead of questioning, Lita simply let her eyes flutter shut and follow Django's movements, letting her arms drape around his neck. It seemed like an eternity, but eventually their noses brushed past the other's and a millisecond later, their lips met. Even though they had no idea what they were doing, it seemed to come naturally for the two and the result was a rather passionate kiss. However, being so caught up in each other, they both forgot to breathe, and broke off a moment later gasping for air, more than a little surprised at the feeling they had just experienced.

"Wow..." said both Lita and Django at the same time between their gasps for air. As Lita rested her head on Django's shoulder, she caught a glance of her clock and sighed.

"We have to go Django," she whispered.

Django nodded and slowly let go of Lita. As the pair walked out of the door, a little inspiration hit Django and he decided to literally sweep Lita off of her feet, bridal style. Such an action didn't go unnoticed by Lita, who let out a small yelp, before realising what had happened and calmed down.

"As much as I enjoy this sweetie," said Lita, "If you drop me going down the staircase, there's going to be trouble!"

"I won't drop you!" protested Django.

"What about your near fall last night then?"

"I told you before, that wasn't my fault!"

* * *

The morning in Lita's shop had been slow, with only a few customers coming in every now and then. Lita had resigned herself to keeping some bookwork up to date and had sent Django off to sort goods and place them out the front. As helpful as keeping records up to date was, Lita was bored and took yet another look at the clock. Noting that it was past noon, she decided that some lunch was in order. 

"Django?" she called out.

"Yeah" replied Django as he walked in the door, "Need some help?"

"Could you watch the store while I go make us some lunch, it'll only be for about ten minutes."

"Sure thing Lita."

Django watched Lita head back up stairs and went back to finish stocking the solar fruit stall. Although it was a less exciting than racing around defeating immortals and generally saving the world, Django had to admit, it was nice to take a break. As he worked with Lita, he couldn't help but notice how normal it felt to be living with Lita and helping her out. It stuck in his head for a moment. 'Normal, this is what it feels to be normal." he thought. As much as it was his duty to protect the earth, living with Lita had been enjoyable. With any luck, it would only get better.

'Ring!'

The sound of the bell above the door snapped Django back to reality and brought to him the attention of a potential customer. Thankfully, he wasn't at a complete loss, as Lita had thankfully told him what to do. However, the man who had just walked in was wearing a noticeable amount of black and Django could almost feel a dark aura flowing around him. He hoped it was his imagination, he was not in the mood for fighting.

"Hi, can I help you with something?" asked Django, with a little apprehension.

The man looked to where Django stood and walked over casually. He looked at him for a moment, as if considering his answer. Django stared right back, noticing that he'd left his solar weaponry upstairs. After a few seconds, the dark figure stepped back and casually smiled at him.

"Ah yes, I'm looking for someone who knows his way around these parts."

His easygoing tone took Django a little by surprise. It certainly didn't match him, but he was obliged to help anyway, just in case looks were deceiving him.

"Well, I know a few things about this place, do you need directions?"

"Not directions, more a question to a locale in the town. Just north of the plaza, there is a rather striking castle. I'd much like to see it for myself, but it seems to be sealed off."

Django immediately cursed himself again for leaving his Gun Del Sol upstairs. It was common knowledge that the Hill of Promises was sealed off to prevent access to the Undead Zone, and that entry was strictly forbidden to everyone. Django also knew that the seal had been created by the combination of all forces in the town with Lita, himself and Otenko included. The only way to break it was for everyone to do so at once, and there was no way that was going to happen with everyone's blessing.

"Sorry, but that area is strictly forbidden." Django stated, in a less than friendly manner, hopefully to detract the dark questioner.

"Oh? But surely a relic like that would have some historical or cultural value."

"Perhaps, but it's of no interest to anyone actually."

The dark figure sighed, he wasn't getting very far, and Django knew that something was up too, he was certain of it. Thankfully, the dark figure decided enough was enough and turned to leave, but not before looking at Django again.

"Would anyone else know about this seal by chance?"

Django had enough and got blunt, "Yes, but they'll only say the same thing as me. Things are sealed for a reason you know."

"I see, well, good day then."

Django looked at the man as he left, getting the familiar sense that something was amiss with that man. If the black clothes weren't a dead giveaway, then his line of questioning wasn't helping either. As Django pondered the last scene, Lita came back down the stairs with lunch and noticed that Django was acting strangely.

"Is something wrong Django?" she asked, scooting up beside him and putting a hand on his shoulder.

Django put an arm around her and pulled her closer, "I don't know Lita, I don't know."

* * *

A/N: Another update, I should start getting these out sooner. Hopefully I can get myself on a weekly update basis. Yes, I know we all hate cliffhangers with infrequent updates but that's the way I think it needs to be. Word count is up, ideas are flowing, so, yay! I'll leave you with a question, what's with the lack of Boktai stories, seriously?! That's my two cents, till next time! 


	6. Shadow of Encounter

Life After Sunrise

Chapter 6: Shadow of Encounter

After Django's encounter with the dark figure, the rest of the day had been relatively quiet. Lita had resisted the initial urge to immediately ask Django what was wrong, as he had been slightly stirred by his encounter. Instead, Lita kept to herself, talking to Django about other things to try and keep his mind occupied. However, her concern wasn't going away and eventually she broke.

"Django?" asked Lita from the other side of the store, "What happened when I was gone today? You don't have to talk about it, it's just that I'm worried about you."

Django contemplated for a moment, "Well, it was this guy who came in. He kept asking why the Hill of Promises was sealed and I know that was a dead giveaway that he's up to something."

"But the weird thing was," he continued, "is that he didn't seem like an undead. It was odd, he was giving off a really unusual aura, and I could sense something, but he wasn't an Immortal."

Lita walked over to Django and leaned against the counter next to him and kept quiet, knowing he wasn't finished yet.

"It isn't right. I thought we could finally relax, now that the Immortals were defeated. Then this guy comes in, something I've never seen before, maybe even more powerful than the Immortals combined."

Letting out a massive sigh, Django slumped a little against the bench. His discomfort and unease were clear as day to Lita and it hurt to see him like this.

"Django..." was all she could say as she took his hand and squeezed it for reassurance.

After staying like that for a moment, Django turned to face Lita again and embraced her in return.

"Thanks Lita, I guess I'm just worried about the safety of everyone around here." he admitted.

"Well don't worry, we're all here to help you Django. We care about you. I care about you. Don't forget that."

Django nodded in reply and Lita placed a quick kiss on his cheek for luck. As the two pulled apart from each other, the bell at the front rang and Zazie poked her head inside.

"You guys in here?" she called out.

"We're right here Zazie, do you need something?"

"Well, actually, I've got something to show you guys." Zazie replied as she walked over to the front counter.

Django and Lita walked up to the other side of the counter as Zazie pulled out a piece of parchment from her bag. Unrolling it, it became clear that all that was written upon the parchment was a simple passage.

"The old mistress decided that we needed a new riddle to try an' get our heads around, and it ain't fun either."

With the rising of the new sun

A shadow will be created in it's wake

A messenger arises, with whom he brings his demons

To return that which was given by their forefathers

Now living as one, within another

They too shall be fearful of the light

But not by just one

But two

"I read it about twenty times this mornin', then I took it to Otenko to, but I just can't figure it out." admitted Zazie.

"Maybe it won't make sense until it's predictions start to happen, like last time." wondered Lita as Django read through the passage again.

"Yeah, I spose' so, but if we figure it out now, we might not have to cut it as close as we did last time."

Django looked over the passage again and again. In a way, it made sense to him. The predictions and the arrival of the dark figure asking about the seal couldn't just be coincidence. However, it was the first passage that interested him the most. It actually made some sense.

"I think," started Django, "That the first line relates to the rising of the sun after the darkness of the Immortals that we just lifted. As for the second line, maybe it relates to an unknown force we don't know about yet."

Zazie and Lita looked back at the parchment and couldn't help but agree, but Zazie was still unconvinced.

"Well, all that does is tell us what he know, and point out that somethin' ain't right again, which we already knew."

The three looked at the passage again, this time Lita spoke up.

"Well, I think the messenger line relates to the unknown force as maybe being demons lead by a 'prophet' maybe, and the light means that they're probably weak to sunlight, like the undead, but that's all I can see."

Fifteen minutes later nobody else figured anything else, so Zazie decided to roll back up the parchment.

"Even with only this figured out, I can't say I'm lookin' forward to a peaceful near future."

"Well, we're finished here for the day, do you think we should go and see Otenko, Django?" asked Lita.

Django thought for a moment, "Definitely, as soon as we can, we'll head off."

* * *

It was late afternoon and Otenko was quietly meditating beside the solar tree. Even before Zazie had shown him the new predictions from her mother, Otenko had known that something had been wrong. Although he'd been optimistic about peace now that Jormungandr had been defeated, there had always been a niggling thought at the back of his mind that even with the defeat of the Immortals, the fight still hadn't been won. As he continued to think, he noticed Zazie, Django and Lita heading towards where he was seated. 

'I was beginning to think they were never going to turn up,' he thought to himself.

"Hey Otenko!" called out Zazie as she got closer, "Any luck on your side?"

"Sorry," replied Otenko, "I can't tell you anything different from last time."

Lita and Django moved to beside Otenko and sat down on the bench nearby, before the sunflower moved to look at them.

"I'm assuming you felt it too, didn't you Master?" asked Django.

"Yes, that presence you came into contact with was radiating a very strange aura, however, it isn't Immortal." said Otenko.

"What do you suppose it is Master Otenko?" queried Lita, a hint of concern in her voice.

Otenko thought for a moment, "Hmm, it's hard to say at the moment with such limited information. Although, I do believe that it seems to be pointing more and more to an ancient force."

"You mean like some power that's just decided to wake up maybe?" asked Zazie as she leant against the solar tree.

"Possibly. Have any of you ever heard of the Shadow Crusade?"

Zazie's ears poked up at this, "I heard the old lad...I mean mistress blabbing about it when I was younger, something about lost prophets I think."

"Yes, that does sound about right. It's a group lead by a figure who believes himself to be the prophet of Jormungandr, before falling into decline with the rising of the Immortals. However, they are not Immortal as it might seem, rather, shadows."

"Shadows? What do you mean Master?" Django asked.

"Well, in a way they are similar to the immortals. They are directly affected by the sun, although quite differently. They are still powerful at night, however when the sun casts a shadow during the day, they gain even more power in those shadows, whilst still begin susceptible to the sunlight. They also do not bear a definite lifespan, they were simply created and exist only to serve a master, who in this case is their prophet."

"So we're basically fightin' the same enemy in a way." stated Zazie.

"In a way, yes. They were never really sealed and simply went into decline when the Immortals arose. I believe that they had assisted in the creation of Jormungandr as a source of power for them, but underestimated its power and were overwhelmed. With the defeat of Jormungandr, perhaps now they see now as the time to rise again."

Lita slumped in her seat, "Does that mean we have to fight again?"

"Unfortunately, it's highly probable. Their actual intentions though, are fairly unclear at the moment. They lack the ability to reproduce and simply don't have the numbers to take over any significant part of land. All we can do now, is wait and see what happens."

The group lapsed into silence for a moment, taking in all of the information.

'Just as I thought we had peace, we have to fight again.' thought Lita with regret, before Otenko broke the silence.

"That is all I can really say at the moment, so I will go back to finding out as much as I can about the Shadow Crusade. Although there is one thing I need to do before I go." said Otenko as he moved towards Django and Lita.

"I had intended to give this to you during the fight against Jormungandr, but as you realise, we became rather busy."

With a quick flash of light, a very elegant bow appeared in front of Otenko. It was white with a gold pattern weaved around the bow, however it had no string or arrow.

"This is the Sol La Bow. It was created in the same vein as the Gun Del Sol, however it works much differently. It can fire the same elemental types as the Gun Del Sol, but the arrows are completely made out of Sol. To use it, there is a small selector under the handle, then you just pull it back like a real bow. The string will appear and the arrow will begin to form, and once it is complete you may then fire it."

Noticing it was in front of her, Lita slowly reached out her hand and took it. She had expected it to be heavy, but it was extremely lightweight and very easy to hold.

"I hope that it will bring you some fortune in the coming weeks, as I do believe we may need all of the help we can get." stated Otenko.

"Thank you Master Otenko, I..I don't know what to say." thanked Lita slightly meekly.

"Think nothing of it, it's more of a sign of appreciation for all the help you've given us along the way." commented Django.

"Wait, you knew about this?" asked Lita slyly.

Django scratched the back of his head, "Well, yeah. We've been meaning to give it to you for a while, we've just been so busy we couldn't."

Lita couldn't help but give Django a crushing bear hug in return, but realised as she was smothering him that Otenko and Zazie were still there and quickly jumped off and composed herself again.

Zazie smothered a small chuckle and pushed herself up, "I'm gonna head home then, thanks for all the help Otenko."

Otenko nodded in reply, "You're welcome, and thank you for getting the prediction to me so quickly."

"No probs, see ya'll around kay?" said Zazie as she moved off, Lita and Django waving and saying goodbye too.

Otenko turned to face Django and Lita once again, "Be careful you two, I'm not sure what is going on right now, but I can guarantee that it will not be entirely good natured. Take care ok?"

"Sure thing Master, good luck."

"Good luck Master Otenko, I hope you find something out soon."

Then with a flash he was gone, leaving Django and Lita by themselves.

"Let's get some dinner, shall we?" suggested Lita as the pair stood up and walked home.

"That sounds great Lita."

As the pair headed off home, Lita intertwined her hand with Django's and gave it a squeeze as the pair smiled at each other, enjoying the peace that they had fought so hard to obtain, and wouldn't let go of very easily.

* * *

A/N: I tried for the weekly, but as you can see, I was a bit late. I kinda got around to playing Metal Gear Solid 2 and Zone of the Enders and got sidetracked. Plus when I finished MGS2, the ending movie froze, so I was a tad miffed, and had beat Solidus, again. I'm going away in a few days, so I'll try to update this time next week at the latest. I'd be on the compy typing more, but my mum is on holidays and doesn't seem to like me on the compy typing so much, despite the fact I'm 18. Oh well. By the way, big thanks to SolarBoyDjango, without you, I would have very few reviews and no constant voice in the back of my head, telling me to get off my ass and type. Thanks! 


	7. Sunlight before Shadow

Life after Sunrise.

Chapter 7: Sunlight before Shadow

With growing uncertainty during the day and a tense standoff with someone who had no business in town, it was quite a relief to simply sit down in Lita's apartment and relax and make some sort of attempt to clear his head. Or was it simply the fact that upon arriving inside the apartment, Lita had promptly dragged him over to the couch, sat him down and told him in a caring (but no less demanding) voice to,

"Sit down and relax, and don't even think about getting up."

Django couldn't help but smile at how Lita could be so shy and caring one minute and then the next, completely determined to get what she wanted. One such memory was upon her rescue from the Count, where she was completely happy to find her own way out, with no intention of being stopped by any immortals.

It was nice, for lack of a better word. Having spent most of his life saving the world from darkness, having someone to take care of you when you were down, to fight with and be with whatever happened, was something that Django couldn't describe. The more he thought about it though, the more Django realised just how much Lita had done not just for him, but for everyone else.

As much as Lita would deny it, her role as an Earthly Maiden was just as, if not more important than Django's role as a vampire hunter. Sure, he held the power to stop the immortals from harming people, but the Solar Trees that Lita cultivated were the real key to restoring life to the planet.

Then there was Lita herself. Not the Earthly Maiden, just the girl Django had saved from the clutches of the Count and fought with to save San Miguel. First impressions had been interesting, but after learning about the power of the Solar Tree, Django had been filled with a new motivation every time he fought. Not only was he fighting to protect the innocent, but to protect Lita and the Solar Tree, the key to restoring Sol to the planet. Even when things looked bad and the enemy had the upper hand in a fight, all Django had to do was remember that somewhere out there, a girl named Lita believed in him and was trying her very hardest to do what she could.

'Even when I barely escaped from a fight, or couldn't get up to keep going,' thought Django, 'She would always be there for me, even if it meant risking everything.'

Even with the pressure of the Solar Tree, the danger of the world around them, Lita was always there, and the fact that she was even mroe beautiful as the Solar Tree in full bloom, gave Django a new resolve and a feeling for her he hadn't been able to describe. That feeling had turned out to be love.

'This new darkness might be more than we've ever faced, but as long as I can face it together with Lita, I've got a feeling that we'll pull through just fine.'

* * *

Across the room in the kitchen, Lita was having similar thoughts about the situation as she was preparing dinner for the two of them. Of course, Lita was still getting used to the experience of finally being able to express herself around Django without breaking out into a sweat and panicking. Their meeting had been like something out of a fairy tale, girl gets captured by evil count and faces possibility of being sacrificed, boy breaks in, beats evil count and saves girl, girl thanks boy and then proceeds to beat the stuffing out of anyone who got in her way on her exit.

Lita suppressed a giggle on that last part. So it hadn't exactly been the ideal ending but the look on Django and Otenko's faces had been priceless and she'd been able to properly vent her frustrations on the way out. However, it was when they were to meet again at the Solar Tree when Lita would get her first real impressions of Django.

In the weeks preceding their fateful meeting, Lita had been hearing rumours of a new vampire hunter who was the son of the famous Red Ringo. At first, she had been expecting a somewhat cocky hunter, famous only for being the son of the famous hunter, but that view was shattered when she finally met Django in more peaceful circumstances beside the slowly growing Solar Tree.

In front of her stood not some egotistical jerk riding on fame, but a boy only her age, listening intently to every word she said and giving all of his support for what she felt was only a small help to the cause of Sol and the cocky attitude she had expected was replaced by a strong sense of determination and kindness. Then, knowing full well of Django's mission and the tale of his family, Lita watched as not only did Django take on everything the Immortals could throw at him, but he promised to give his all to help Lita's Solar Tree bloom into the beautiful symbol of peace and Sol.

If that hadn't been enough for Lita to fall for Django, then the proverbial stone that tripped her had been when he came back after all was said and done to make sure both she and the Solar Tree were alright. Then he collapsed in a heap from exhaustion into Lita's arms, and she'd almost fainted from the shock of it.

Lita couldn't help but smile at that memory as she put the finishing touches on dinner. At first she'd only thought of it as a little crush when they'd met (he certainly wasn't bad looking), but every time Lita thought her work meant only very little in the grand scheme of things, Django would come back every time and remind her that without the Solar Tree, life would never return to the planet. That little crush had managed to turn itself into complete and utter love.

'Even when I think I do so little, Django always finds a way to make me feel special,' thought Lita, 'As long as we're together, we can do anything.'

It was on that thought that Lita finished dinner, set it out on the table, took a deep breath, before going over to Django and sitting herself comfortably on his lap, snaking her arms around him in the process.

"Lita?" asked Django, surprised by her actions.

"This feels nice," replied Lita as she sighed contentedly.

All Django could do was respond by pulling her closer, before the scent of dinner started to waft over to the couple.

"You know, all that hard work is going to get cold." Joked Django as Lita got comfortable.

"I know, but..." Lita trailed off, unsure of what to say.

Django nodded in understanding as Lita buried her head in Django's shoulder. "I understand."

They stayed like that a little longer, before Lita eventually decided that she didn't really want all of her hard work to go cold, but before they sat down, Django grabbed Lita's hand, causing her to stop and look questioningly at him.

"I'm a little scared too, but I think, together, we can be strong, and face anything we need to."

Lita smiled in response, and gave him another quick hug before they sat down for dinner.

"I think we'll be just fine Django."

* * *

After a relaxing dinner and washing up the dishes, it was decided that bedtime was looking like a promising option. However, just as they were heading to the bedroom, something caused them both to stop in their tracks.

"No, it can't be," said Django, "That's the same dark energy I felt coming off that stranger today."

Lita shared Django's concern, "It's a lot stronger this time too, I hope nothing's, ah!" Before Lita could finish, the energy spiked, followed by a deep rumbling, shaking them both by the sheer force of the dark energy.

Out of instinct, Django swept into his belongings, retrieving his Gun Del Sol and a couple of grenades, knowing that something like this wasn't to be taken lightly. Lita wasn't going to let Django go by himself though, retrieving her Sol La Bow, before Django's arm grabbed hers and a pair of concern laden eyes set on her.

"Lita, that energy was..." started Django.

"I know how bad it was, but you know that energy didn't feel very far away and people could be hurt Django." Replied Lita sternly.

Django weighed up his options, on one hand, they had no idea the power they were going up against, and taking Lita might be too risky. On the other hand though, Django knew Lita was tough and she was right about people getting hurt.

Django relented, "Alright, but stay close to me, we can't take any risks without knowing how powerful this thing is."

Lita nodded in reply. "I know, I just want to be there for you. You're not alone Django, we can face this together." She paused for a moment, trying to find the right words. "I love you Django, I want to face this together with you, because whenever I'm with you I feel like everything I do makes a difference. I want to protect everyone as well, and if we take this on together, then I know that we can do it."

Even knowing of the danger they both faced, the things that could happen to the both of them, there was no way that Django felt he could say no to her request. It was always going to be dangerous, but Lita's presence gave Django the strength to protect the people around him and if Lita felt the same way, then they would face it together.

Django released Lita's arm and took her free hand into his, giving it an assuring squeeze. "I love you too Lita, and I know that together we are strong, I just don't want to lose you."

"I don't want to lose you either," consoled Lita, taking Django into her arms, "But we can protect each other Django, we give each other strength, and if we use that strength together, I know we can overcome anything we have to."

The two stood for a few more moments, before Django pulled pack slightly and looked into Lita's emerald eyes, seeing nothing but the sheer sincerity of her feelings. With no words he could muster, Django cupped Lita's chin, as she drew in a shuddered breath in anticipation, before he passionately kissed her, conveying his feelings in return.

Eventually, they pulled apart, Lita sighing into his embrace, before another wave of dark energy reminded them of what needed to be done. The two set hurriedly set off towards the source of the dark energy, determined to stop it now before any more damage was done. The future was uncertain, but as they ran, Django and Lita knew that together, they would find the strength to see it through.

* * *

A/N: Firstly, big sorry for the MASSIVE cliffhanger I leave in my wake. But I can assure you (on threat of, I dunno, angry mob) that the next chapter will not take too long to appear. Secondly, another big sorry for the horrendous break between updates, that's something I won't do again. Now that I'm writing, the ideas are flowing quite nicely thank you very much. Also sorry if this chapter seems a little out of whack with the rest of the story but I felt like I needed to establish Django and Lita's love for each other a bit better. I'd say more here, but I'll write some more on my profile about my various doings in the next couple of days.

Don't forget, if you like my story, I like reviews. Feel free to PM me if you'd like to chat too, I like meeting people, maths degrees get a little lonely sometimes. Kudos!


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